Thai Protesters Shut Down Airport

Antigovernment protesters besieged Thailand’s main international airport, startling tourists, halting flights and escalating months of political tensions into a full-blown national crisis.

THOMAS FULLER

BANGKOK -- Thailand's main international airport remained shut Wednesday after protesters besieged the facility, startling tourists, halting flights and escalating months of simmering political tensions into a full-blown national crisis.

The airport raid, carried out Tuesday by men wielding metal rods who pushed past riot police officers, was the climax of three years of intermittent protests that have tarnished Thailand's long-standing image as a freewheeling but stable nation.

A series of extreme measures by protesters, including a violent clash with government supporters on Tuesday in Bangkok that left 11 people injured, has brought the government near collapse and left Thailand's democracy teetering.

The government has struggled to carry on its business while trying to quell the most recent demonstrations, but has found itself consumed by the stalemate. A sit-in at government offices forced Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat to conduct business elsewhere.

This week, protesters began what they called a final push against the country’s leaders. They prevented Parliament from holding one important session and have said they plan to prevent any future sessions or cabinet meetings, effectively paralyzing the government.

The protesters, a loose coalition of royalists, academics and members of the urban elite, say they are frustrated by years of vote-buying and corruption. Many are also skeptical of Thai democracy in its current form and propose a voting system that would lessen the representation of lower-income Thais, who they say are particularly susceptible to vote-buying.

The latest protests come at a time of anxiety over the health of 80-year-old King Bhumibol Adulyadej and worries about his succession. There is also frustration about an underperforming national economy.

The recent protests have centered on Thaksin Shinawatra, a former prime minister who was removed from power two years ago in a military coup. Protesters accuse the current government and the one before it of being Mr. Thaksin’s proxies.

Mr. Thaksin was recently convicted in absentia of abuse of power and remains in exile. The current prime minister is Mr. Thaksin’s brother-in-law.

At the cavernous Suvarnabhumi airport early Wednesday, protesters said they would not leave until the government stepped down.

During the original face-off with riot police officers on Tuesday, one protester said she was willing to die if necessary.

“If they shoot, let them shoot,” said Pranee Rattanatakerngporn, a 55-year-old protester who traveled to Bangkok from the northern city of Chiang Mai. “I will stay here until we win.”

Officials decided to shut the airport around 9 p.m. Tuesday “for the safety of all passengers.”

“I’m very worried about the situation now,” said Sereerat Prasutanon, director of the airport. “I think it’s time that the army comes out and helps to take care of the situation.”

By shutting down the airport, protesters are ultimately holding the country hostage, analysts say.

“The gateway to the country is now blocked,” said Panitan Wattanayagorn, a professor of political science at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok. “This is an acute problem for the government.”

Suvarnabhumi is the world’s 18th-largest airport in terms of passenger traffic and a major transit hub for Southeast Asia. It handled 41 million passengers last year.

Among the passengers stranded at the airport was Anna Plahn, a 34-year-old from Sweden wrapping up a vacation with her two young children. “My two kids are sick and they want to go home,” she said. “This is the worst thing that has ever happened to us.”

On Tuesday, thousands of protesters were camped out on the main entrance ramp to the airport, blocking traffic to the departure terminal. They spread razor wire on the road to limit traffic, which was allowed to trickle through. A truck parked in front of the terminal served as a makeshift stage where a well-known actor, Saranyu Wongkrachang, led the crowd of protesters in song throughout the night.

The protesters, who had mainly confined their demonstrations to their sit-in at the government compound, took to the streets Monday, when they forced the cancellation of Parliament and temporarily cut electricity to the police headquarters.

On Tuesday, thousands of protesters kept the Thai government on the run, blocking the entrance to its temporary offices north of the city and massing in front of army headquarters.

In the late afternoon a clash erupted between protesters and government supporters on a major road in Bangkok. Television reports showed two protesters shooting handguns in the direction of the government supporters and beating them with metal rods and sticks. There were no reports of deaths on Tuesday.

The video also showed protesters surrounding a motorcycle taxi driver and holding a knife to his throat as he clasped his hands together, begging for mercy. Mr. Thaksin has many supporters among taxi drivers. It was unclear what happened to the man.

On Wednesday, The Associated Press reported that the police said assailants had thrown four explosive devices at anti-government protesters, injuring at least six people.

With nearly daily protests taking place in Bangkok for the past six months, many Thais have grown frustrated.

The Thai print news media, which has been generally critical of the government and supportive of the protests, has recently run articles skeptical of the daily street demonstrations. One columnist in the newspaper The Nation on Tuesday called the protests a “never-ending saga that is futile and a drain on society.”

The latest spate of protests began in April, but became more serious in August, when the alliance raided and took over the prime minister’s office compound, forcing the previous prime minister to operate out of the V.I.P. terminal of Don Muang Airport, the capital’s older airfield, now used for domestic flights. Mr. Somchai and his staff had used the same airport offices. On Monday, protesters blocked access to those offices.

“You don’t have to doubt what we will do next,” Somsak Kosaisuk, a protest leader, said Tuesday from a temporary stage set up at Don Muang airport. “First, we will not let the cabinet use this place for their meetings anymore. Second, wherever they go for their meetings, we have our special troops that will follow them.” A cabinet meeting had been planned for Wednesday, but government officials said it might be pushed back.

The prime minister is scheduled to return late Wednesday, from a trip to Peru, where he attended a summit meeting of Asian and Pacific leaders.

As the Thai economy slows down with the global financial crisis causing ripples here, and as the stalemate between government and protesters deepens, many Thais are hoping for a coda.

“How is it going to end?” said Bharavee Boonsongsap, a 34-year-old producer for MTV Thailand. “I keep asking people but they have no answer. Thais are fighting Thais. People have become aggressive, and even children have been taught to hate the opposite side.”

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.

Online Services

Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted.
Gadsden Times ~ 401 Locust St. Gadsden, AL 35901, Gadsden, AL 35901 ~ Privacy Policy ~ Terms Of Service